The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"These individuals had it all--success, money, and the admiration of their community."

"But they have tarnished their good names and reputations because they wanted even more than they already had, and they wanted it the quick and easy way."

The brothers were charged by way of two separate informations (read them here and here).The tax case went to Judge Jordan and the health care fraud case went to Judge Altonaga. Usually when individuals are charged by information that means that they have already worked out deals. I wonder why they did two separate cases though....

In a Tuesday afternoon court appearance, the brothers pleaded not guilty, and a federal magistrate ordered their release on $250,000 personal surety bonds.Their attorneys, Alan Ross and Dennis Kainen, dodged questions about how the brothers ultimately would resolve the case. ''Carlos and Jorge, who are both honorable and charitable men, will be resolving these charges with the same commitment and enthusiasm'' they have shown in this community for many years, the attorneys said in a joint statement.***Tuesday's charges signify a huge fall for the brothers, who in 2003 earned a profit of $48 million. They often showed up in matching Bentleys at Chispa, their restaurant in Coral Gables, which is now closed. They went to basketball games at the Pharmed Arena on the campus of Florida International University. The Pharmed name has since been removed.

The Sun-Sentinel coverage is here. Credit to the Miami Herald for the photo above.

18 comments:

Roger Kowstein
said...

Yeah, right, blah, blah, blah. Two of the most despicable "businessman" to come ashore in Miami in 1961. Interesting choice of words, "enthusiasm" and "commitment." Unless their attorneys are going to do the time for them, they will not likely be enthusiastic about the 8 year sentences of commitment (to the BOP) they will receive.

What's with the use of the word bigot on this blog all of a sudden. Were his comments really driven by animosity towards Hispanics? I don't know...but, if you look at the substance, the guy is simply saying the brothers are not so nice and we would have been better without them.

Wrong. The term "businessman" in quotes signifies that the writer believes the brothers are not true businessmen, but only refer to themselves as such. Kind of like saying the "beautiful" Rosie O'Donnell or the "intelligent" MDJ.

As such, objective analysis of the comment dictates that the writer does not consider the crooked brothers to be comparable to the real Cuban businessmen who came here in the 60s -- people our community should genuinely be appreciative for having.

I agree with Anonymous 11:44 AM, the first comment was referring to the DC brothers and not ALL CUBANS, since he referred to them as despicable businessmen who just happen to be Cuban/Cuban American. Otherwise, his comment would reflect, explicitly, that ALL CUBANS are easily corrupted, despicable and greedy.

These lovely citizens did not arrive by boat in 1961. They flew in first class to New York , where as friends of Batista, they had previously sent all their assets, as they voluntarily deserted their family and willingly fled their homeland, for money.

Let's see. Separate informations, tax and fraud. Different prosecutors, etc. Deal-making lawyers speaking to the press and saying nothing. Looks like these boys are going to get 5 years on tax and get concurrent time and 5K discount. Of course, they will be ratting out Latin politicos and other "businessmen" of their ilk. It seems Mr. Kowstein was correct. What a town! Glad I migrated to the beach.

Kainen and Ross are two of the biggest plea lawyers going. Amazing folks get duped into hiring them. They are state court fellas out of their league in federal court, which is why they never try cases. Didn't kainen punch Bill Barzee?

Mr. Bertin Perez, the Cespedes' CFO could be involved in these schemes. EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#7 22 hrs ago Carlos Manuel de Cespedes was a late president of Cuba. These dihonorable people dare to be named as such. Throw them and their conspirators in jail to rod. The IRS needs to cntinue investigating down from thei CFO, accountants..... and throw them all in jail if found guilty. EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#8 22 hrs ago I am ashamed of all the Cuban commisioners, businessmen and politicians who have been caught doing fraud in this country. The US extended its hand when we needed it, and this is how they pay. No wonder we've been in exile for five decades. I am ashamed to be associated with such a corrupt society. I am ashamed to be represented by crooks. It's in our blood, and we cannot erase our doings. We have built a prestigious Cuban monarchy at the expense of honest tax payers, lied to year-in-and- out. Shame on you de Cespedes', and all of you who sooner all later will pay for your malicious acts. I am a firm believer of Carma/Karma/destiny.....For you crooks who are reading this article, you're next-- sleep tight, think about those you plan to screw next, ut don't be fooled, sooner or later your time will come to pay here on earth as well as in heaven. I don' go to church as most if you do to only repent for the sins you've done and are planning to make. Today, churches are overflowing with attending crooks and pastors who continuously hide behind their second personatities.Next time you're in church, look around you, and you'll understand perfectly well.......... Sleep tight Ads by GoogleLaw Schools America - Dogpile.com has all the top search engines piled into one. Try it now.www.dogpile.comAre You Nursing Material? - Take this Quiz to Find Out if Nursing is the Career For You!www.LearnAndBecome.comLaw Schools In Texas - Find Hundeds of Online Colleges! AA, BA & Graduate Degree Programs.WashingtonPost.com EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#9 21 hrs ago I see many articles who call the Cespedes brothers to be "entrepreneurs". You got to be joking!!!!!!!I've been in the health care industry for 20 years. My wife and I decided from the very beginning not to be involved with the medicare system. Today we could have easily been multimillionaires at the expense of tax payers. Doing fraud back then could have been easy, as some of you know, however, we decided to make a decent life. We consider ourselves very good entrepreneurs in this industry, however, we are not recognized publcally as the Cespedes are. We honestly believe that the Cespedes are not only but "glorified medical suppliers", making their millions at the expense of middle class law abiding citizens like myself amd my family.Should you like to know a true honest entrepreneur, try getting to know my beautiful Cuban-American wife, Silvia EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#10 12 hrs ago Is the government informant going to get remunerated by the State & FBI? EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#11 12 hrs ago I have similar information abou other companies. Is the FBI interested? EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#12 12 hrs ago "about" EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#13 12 hrs ago So that tax payers don't keep paying for these crook's jail time, I suggest a law be passed to take away the crook's US citizenship, and deport them to their country of origin. I'm sure the Castro brothers and the deCespedes brothers have many things in common. EASMiami, FL Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#14 25 min ago see goole "carlos manuel de cespedes fraud" and click on the first issue

The Southern District of Florida blog was started by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.